Military Contractors Coming Under the Code of Justice

P.W. Singer notes :

[I]t has now come out that a tiny clause was slipped into the Pentagon's fiscal year 2007 budget legislation. The one sentence section (number 552 of a total 3510 sections) states that "Paragraph (10) of section 802(a) of title 10, United States Code (article 2(a) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), is amended by striking `war' and inserting `declared war or a contingency operation'." The measure passed without much notice or any debate.

Previously contractors only came under the US military code of justice [USMJ] if war was declared, which fell out of fashion after WWII as the US legislative abrogated its responsibilities. It turns out the military's relation was mainly contractual:

At most, the local officer in charge could request to the employing firm that the individual be demoted or fired. If he thought a felony occurred, the officer might be able to report them on to civilian authorities.

Like the political advisors in the current Australian parliamentary system, military contractors have been falling through a 'law gap'. Singer concludes:

The ultimate point is that the change gives the military and the civilians courts a new tool to use in better managing and overseeing contractors, but leaves it to the Pentagon and DOJ to decide when and where to use it. Given their recent track record on legal issues in the context of Iraq and the war on terror, many won't be that reassured.
Congress is to be applauded for finally taking action to reign in the industry and aid military officers in their duties, but the job is not done. While there may be an inclination to let such questions of scope and implementation be figured out through test cases in the courts, our elected public representatives should request DoD to answer the questions above in a report to Congress.

Permalink, Military Contractors Coming Under the Code of Justice, Jan 2007, cam

Alan: deliberate gaps in the law: Let\'s not imagine the legal immunity granted to military contractors was an accident.

Most of the Iraq occupation feel down a rabbit hole, by deliberate choice of the Bush administration, who at one stage were arguing that congress could not investigate the Coalition Provisional Authority because it was not a US agency.

Immuniy, or to give it its real name impunity, was what it was all about. The CPA was created by executive order, its administrator was not submitted for legislative confirmation, its accounts were delared inspection- and audit-free by executive order. We can pat ourselves on the back and mutter that congress aborgated its responsibilities. Tut. Tut.

So did we. The usual model for occupation governments involves an allied council with powers that range from advisory to decisive. It was only by Britain and Australia\'s collusion that the Bush adminsitration also escaped any form of allied accountability.

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